7.16pm: Hello and welcome to live and exclusively-typed commentary on what now looks like a surprisingly knife-edged early-season formality. Yes it's Arsenal v Udinese, the kind of low-level Champions League engagement Arsene Wenger's handsome lads have generally cuffed disdainfully from their sight on the way to more frenzied disappointments in the later rounds.

Could things be different this year? Certainly this is the most obvious crisis of public confidence in the 14-year history of North London Wengerball. Oddly, you might think for a club who are on course for the Champions League, possess a wonderful stadium and play optimistic football: there is discontent in the air.

We want trophies. We want violent and speculative acts of fiscal expenditure. These are the Arsenal fans' complaints. But if Udinese are as good as the Voice of Italian Football James Richardson says they are, these fans might have wider cause for complaint before long. Failure to spend early in the transfer window + (Champions League exit – Cesc) = major problems.

It is a very weird time for the club all round. I was listening to BBC London earlier today when the newsreader announced that

How poignant, I thought. The man whose blatant dive six years ago set up the goal that made it look like Arsenal might beat Barcelona and not just win the Champions League but perhaps even become Barcelona, the Barcelona of now, the team who have ruined football by being too good and never giving the ball away.

That man, that diving man: entirely anonymous now, mispronounced, humiliated by a newsreader, and waved off without any real regrets when, for a while it looked like he might be Arsenal's Park Ji Sung, a vaguely demented galloping mascot figure, showered with a humorously vast medal collection

It wasn't to be. Ay-yoo-bay is no more. And it's not so much a changing of the guard at the Emirates as a selling off of the guard, and a replacing of the guard with a slightly worse looking guard, a guard oddly lacking in conviction.

Of course, this may simply be the a pessimistic view. Either way things will no doubt look a lot clearer after tonight.

7.24pm: Roy Hodgson is on Sky doing this match. He once managed Udinese (of course) and he calls them "Ooodinayzee" right pwopa. "The stadium is rarely full there," he says. I love Roy.

7.27pm: Arsene pre-match: "the club is in a strong financial position". The man is an economic puritan. "Look, Geoff, look at the players I have brought here." Yeah, Geoff. Look. Just. Look. Geoff.

7.31pm: Jamie Redknapp thinks Arsenal need players "who are willing to roll their sleeves up". It sounds like he means it literally. Maybe also tie a sweater loosely around their shoulders. Nick Smith writes: "Look at it another way; given the sums involved for top-top-top players due to Man City being around, would Arsenal fans rather spend little and bring their own youngsters through the ranks, or spend 20 million on other clubs youth team products?" The latter, and then win the League. It's football. Everyone's over-excited. Everyone's an idiot *.*Even very clever people.

7.36pm: Gary Naylor writes: "I can't help thinking Arsenal Football Club are a bit of a portent for what the Coalition will do to the country. Yes there's less debt than competitors carry and yes the plan has been seen through in the face of loud opposition and yes the leader is still in charge, but what's the bloody point if this is where you end up?" I think we'd take an Arsenal. Better then the current Ridsdale-era Leeds United. Or Gretna. Britain is currently Gretna just after that ludicrously generous owner died leaving them falling right off a very high cliff.

7.39pm: Rai Skrupskis is waxing historical: "Wenger now is surely the Louis XIV of the Premier League. The sun may indeed shine out of Arsene, but surely Bastille Day is approaching. It had better be for Arsenal's sake." Who's Napoleon? Pat Rice?

7.40pm: Matthew Carpenter-Arevalo has this: "Doesn't the issue with Arsenal simply boil down to wages? As soon as they go after a world class player they have to adjust their pay scale." Love pay scales. It's what this wonderful game is all about.

7.41pm: The players are out. Udinese are in a Newcastle-ish kit. Perhaps not a good omen.

7.43pm: Ian Copstake adds: "There should be an Fiscally Fit award to stand alongside the Fair Play award as Arsene would be a shoe-in. Though knowing his luck it will be introduced in the week he loses his job." And with that we're almost off. All-Dutch refereeing party today. They look like an ageing boy band.

7.44pm: By the way - Di Natale is the dangerman for Arsenal, by a distance. He really is a very good striker. In fact they should probably buy him.

1 minArsenal kick off and keep the ball for a bit, doing their nice passing from back to middle, if not quite front. And Ekstrand is booked for a late tackle on Chamakh. Will Arsenal lump this into the box to test the keeper? What do you think?

3 mins They don't of course. Instead Arsenal are keeping the ball as they do, with Udinese erecting an almost cliched and offensively stereotypical Italian-style mass defence. They will keep it tight and play on the break.

4 mins GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Udinese. And that is an atypical Arsenal goal - but a vital one too for so many reasons. A nice pass from Sagna sets Ramsey away down the right and his low cros is nicely turned in by Walcott at the near post. Ever so easy, nice and direct and - there, there3- it all looks a bit better doesn't it? Not so bad now eh?

6 mins Nice little run on the left by Gervinho on his CL debut and Arsenal look wonderfully fluid and jet-heeled, as they often do at this time of year (I know: but they do). Walcott not just skins, but guts, cures and mounts his full back and wins a corner. He looks full of vim. It comes to nothing but a fine start here.

9 mins Arsenal win another corner and it's a terrible miss from Gervinho. Unmarked five yards out, he air-kicks a flick on from Koscielny. That really should have been another goal. Udinese go down the other end and almost get Di Natale in. And Stanley Lee suggests: "Walcott lacks mental strength. His comments in his book about Capello, backs up what Mancini was saying about modern footballers. Nice goal though." what is "mental strength" anyway? Luck, talent, good team mates? You can't be a top pro without mental strength. Those blokes, the mentally weak, they're all doing something else for a living.

12 mins Walcott is booked for tripping Neuton. Neuton is then booked for miming an imaginary yellow card. Nice, from the ref.

12 minsDi Natale hits the bar with a brilliant whipped free kick from out wide. That looked like a goal all the way. What a strike, amazing dip on it. This is a very open game now. On the departed Eboue Zach Neeley writes: "Supposedly once went to the Arsenal Christmas party dressed in a full body lion costume (doesn't half ass his faking) and jumped out from behind the door, roaring at arriving guests. It was not a costume party. He will be missed."

15 mins Udinese are suddenly all over Arsenal, with Di Natale right to the fore. They are a nice team on the ball with lots of movement and incisive passing. But wait! Here's Song galloping down the right channel into loads of space and then just, er, sort of, not quite, kind of, twisting and turning a lot, and looking, a bit, not quite, somehow. .. and it's cleared.

18 mins I'm sorry Gervinho. I like the look of you. You seem enthusiastic. I understand you played very well last season. Your hair is amusing. But it just isn't really going to work. I know this already. I feel you do too. Walcott pops up on the right to have a go at the booked left back. He seems fiercely on his game tonight. For now at least. And Ryan Dunne writes: "This is mental strength"

21 mins More nice play from Walcott as he works some space on the right and has a low shot that is easily saved. Capello is in the crowd tonight by the way. The preposterous old ham. On "mental strength" Stanley Lee ripostes: "Fair argument. Though one reference to Gazza pokes a few holes into it." No it doesn't. Gazza had more balls than any English player I've seen. He was totally unafraid on the pitch. He just happened to be an alcoholic as well.

24 mins Arsenal have had much more of the ball in the last five minutes but they will be wary of this team. Does having played one Premier League match make a difference in terms of fitness? Harry Tuttle thinks so: "Aren't these supposedly high-stakes (but in reality low-risk) fixtures what this Arsenal are made for? Walcott, Vermalaen, Rosicky, wow... they all look like world beaters against a side that is still in pre-season, considers itself underdogs, tries to outpass the opposition and would be happy with a draw."

26 mins Walcott, in lively, impish mode, ewins another corner but also try to play a serie sof one-two in the Udinese area, the Itlaians break the length of the pitch and Schezz-knee makes a brilliant save from - I think - Armero with his feet as Sagna backs off. Isla has a go with the follow up but it's blocked by Song. what a break and Arsenal looked wide open there.

29 mins Walcott again makes good ground down the left but his cross is too late, too high and too floated into space miles from anyone. Thomas Havro Hansen writes: "Can we trust Glendenning to remind you of that thing you said about Gervinho (18 mins) after he scores 15 goals this season? Or will we have to do it ourselves?" Barry would be far too much of a gentleman to do anything of the sort.

32 mins Chamakh has done nothing. I sense he will continue to do nothing. It's just a hunch. Gervinho controls the ball with his hand when well-placed. Paul Galdas muses: "Chamakh and Gervinho have the worst collective hair-dos since Hall and Oats." Gervinho's isn't exactly bad. It's just fundamentally wrong. It is a misjudgement. It makes him look like he's escaped midway through being scalped.

33 mins Decent pressure form Arsenal, all bit diffuse, but they are at least trying a few shots from distance tonight to go with the possession. Neil Lensink objects: "I don't understand your Gervinho comments. He's looked decent so far this game, no?" Yes. He looks all right. He tries hard. But... you know. Song is getting through a lot of work in central midfield. He has done a good job in that role - often overlooked. Oh I say what a nice dinked pass for Isla by Di Natale. Corner to Udinese.

36 mins Chamakh heads the corner away powerfully, but it's played back into Di Natale, who jinks a yard and shoots just past the post. Udinese could have scored on three occasions here. They are a properly good team, very nicely organised, very purposeful. They look like they've got a handle on Walcott now too. Half time might be handy here for Arsenal.

40 mins Might just be coincidnece/lack of ideas, but Arsenal have played a few long balls tonight. There another "big Diagonal" out to Chamakh who nods it down. Is this tactical evolution? Bit weird an unnatural if you ask me. Like watching Boris Johnson breakdancing.

42 mins Arsenal have been under some pressure for the last few minutes. No real chances but they've had to defend well. Chamakh draws a foul 40 yards from goal and it's a bit of a relief. Vermaelan punts the free kick towards goal and it's easily blocked. Hubert O'Hearn writes: "I'm a Reds fan, always was and always will be, so obviously anything Arsenal does wrong is to our benefit. But the Arsenal fans are getting worse than us! Walcott, Gibbs, Ramsey...by Christmas they could really be hot and gelling. Make you a bet right now - they finish higher than the old men of Chelsea." Reds? Which Reds? Walcott? Hot and gelling? Shortly after he's washed his hair maybe.

45 minsHALF TIME. Arsenal 1-0 Udinese. That was an exciting half. Arsenal started well, but the last 20 minutes belonged to Udinese, who look like in good nick for a team yet to play a league game. They could quite easily be up in this game. I wonder what Pat Rice is going to say in the dressing room. If anything at all.

I will be back in a few minutes with more of my thoughts and yours. Meanwhile Mark Taylor has this picture of Chamakh and Gervinho some time in the mid-1990s.

Robert Gallo writes: "My dearest Barry..." and then goes on at great length about various issues. Sigh. Lucas LeCours is back with a footballing lesson! "Listen, I'm a Gooner so I don't want to be associated w/ Liverpool. But, you should know that the Reds are Liverpool..." They're certainly some Reds. As Dan O points out :"Not sure what the Cincinnati Reds have to do with Arsenal or Chelsea."

Chris Thomson points out: "I don't see Gervinho as being any better or worse than Theo Walcott and that right there is the reason why it's so depressing to be an Arsenal supporter at the moment. We used to have players like Bergkamp and Henry you know?" But then again as Robert Beams tells me on Twitter: "RE Gervinho: worth remembering that Henry, Pires and Ljungberg were all written off during the start of their Arsenal careers." He ain't no Henry.

By the way if you want to send me Twitter messages about all this for whatever reason you can do so via this link

Andrew Fyffe is putting the boot in. And it hurts. Crash! "Let us not not beat around the bush, Gervinho, Chamakh and Koscielny (I.e Wenger's last three big signings) all look like they're barely good enough for the Europa League, let alone this. Wenger wants value from players and that's fine, but he's clearly forgotten what quality looks like." Ooof!

The players are out. Djourou is on for Gibbs. Vermaelan is at left back. Poor old Gibbs. Hope he's not injured. Being scapegoated not much better, mind.

46 minsWe're away again and Udinese are on the attack again. Isla rampages down the right and his shot is blocked at close range by Vermaelen. Almero then almost gets on the end of a deep cross from the right. They really are up for this.

48 mins Arsenal are faffing about at the bakc. Anothjer long hoofd forward. Chamakh loses the ball. Bendtner is a confident man, perhaps ludicrously so at times. but really: you're on the bench - and Chamakh is playing. You would start to wonder.

50 mins Brilliant goal-saving tackle from Djourou. A mistake from Koscielny lets in Di Natale who half-rounds Shaznay from All Saints and shoots only to see the ball strike the muscular thigh of Djourou. Arsenal look terribly limp right now I'm afraid.

53 mins A vast army of substitutes is warming up near the Arsenal bench. Most of them are about 14. Udinese are still pressing and ow they have a corner. Sebastian Welton writes: "Well I saw Gervinho at the Köln-Arsenal game where he scored a couple of fine goals and played a rather good game so I think he should be given a chance. Are there any Arsenal fans letting of flares? There were a couple at the aforementioned game, one with a red one and the other with a green one. They were really rather pathetic actually, more like large sparklers and the stewards did nothing and there was no stadium announcement about it like there normally is." No. No Flares. You get beaten with a riot stick if you do that kind of thing round here. Then David Cameron calls you "sick".

54 mins The corner is well cleared by Djourou and Gervinho has a chance to break but the ball bobbles away form his flailing shins. Young Jenkinson is about to come on. Cripes. It's only 1-0. This had better work, Arsene.

56 mins Djourou, we hear, has a hamstring problem. He's only been on for nine minutes. And here comes Carl Jenkinson, who could barely get a game for Charlton and who will now play at right back in the Champions League qualifiers with Sagna at left back. This, to me, looks really bad for Arsenal. The team has goen lop-sidewd, Udinese are pressing. You really need leaders at a time like this. Cliche I know, but it's true. They could really do with Fabregas out there. And Vieira. And Bould. And Brady. And McLintock. And Charles Buchan.

59 mins Neuton goes off and Pasquale come on. Udinese may be wondering whether to stick or twist here. Have a go, I say. Jenkinson loses the ball there, bit of a tangle and a cross-shot is whipped across goal. Gulp. Lots of discontent around the stadium. Arsenal can't keep the ball right now. And Jim Bach adds: "Please mention that during the halftime punditry on al-Jazeera Sport 3+ (or whateverit might be that I'm streaming), Ray Parlour commented that he'd never seen this Udinese side before, but that they are quality. Or something to that effect. Never seen them??? And he's getting paid to comment? On TV?" But... He's Ray Parlour. Ray. Parlour.

62 mins Rosicky is giving the ball away with monotonous regularity. He really should try to break things up a bit by passing to his own team. Something different perhaps. Sorry, but they are really missing you know who. Udinese continue to press. The ball belongs to them right now.

64 mins And they;'re also missing Wilshere of course, who makes a real difference to this team and is also a leader. There's some "Arsenal.. Arsenal" stuff from the stands as they have the ball for a bit. That soon peters out, but some possession at least for the home team as Walcott goes on a slippery dash down the left. It doesn't last. Another corner to Udinese. They seem to have had hundreds. This one ends up with Arnero hoofing a shot that swings away and just over the bar.

67 mins Udinese just look that bit more organised and seasoned, albeit it's supposed to be Arsenal who have all the Champions League experience. Would Gary Cahill or Scott Dann really make any difference to this performance? Arsenal need something more profound. They need a 26 year old Roy Keane, or five Xavis, or a giant venomous spider to play in central midfield.

70 mins Oh dear. Arsenal's first effort "on" goal of the half. Walcott sprints through the middle like Ben Johnson on crack leaving everybody for dead, and then tries a ludicrous chip on his left hand side that just sort of flats vaguely like a stray balloon and is disdainfully caught with one hand by the keeper.

72 mins Another Arsenal shot. Rosicky has a wild punt with the outside of his foot from miles out and now he's off - replaced by the hulking Frimpong. I like the look of this player. He should add some energy and purpose at the very least. Ben Bellamy is on hand with humour: ""Sorry, but they are really missing you know who." OBVIOUS JOKE ALERT. It's true: where is Eboue when you need him?"

74 mins Yeah. So Frimpong makes an immediate difference by giving away a free kick 30 yards out. Di Natale curls it beautifully and Scab-Knees pulls off a very athletic save diving to his left and palming well clear. Mark Taylor shares this: "Around 2001 I worked a summer pulling shifts in a food factory in north Wales, and there was a bloke on the line who claimed to be Ray Parlour's cousin "I get tickets to all the games", anyway, one day an older chap called Stenno, who did not believe our man, turned to me and said "Ray Parlour? More like fuggin' Alf Parlour, heh heh" to this day I remember the exchange clear as day and still have absolutely no clue who Alf Parlour is, or whether I should know who he is." He should have said "front parlour" maybe? Something like that?

76 mins "Now Gervinho... Still Gervinho!" If those words don't make the hair stand up on the back of your neck, you're dead. Not much comes of it all the same. Nice little darting run from the new man though. And a nice surge and pass form the undaunted Theo too.

78 mins Armero brings down Sagna out on the left and Arsenal can swing this in to the box. Time for a bit of a rest too. And now Arnero is being booked for not getting back ten yards, the div. A bit of roughousing in the box and the ball dribbles clear harmlessly.

81 mins Arsenal may have weathered the worst of it. They're keeping the ball a bit better now as Udinese have perhaps tired. Although, hang on... Pinzi whacks a fierce shot on to the rear net-stanchion behind the goal. That was not too far away. AndHolly Masturzo has been off scouting for Arsenal's new giant spider midfield enforcer. Hope you're on 10%.

84 mins Walcott has a nice little dart in behind the defence on the right but he's buffeted away from the ball by some expert Italian barging. Tom Burgess asks: "As a Liverpool fan, who should I be wary of come Saturday?" Judging by tonight, you should be wary of Man Utd, Chelsea and Man City.

86 mins Tee hee. Great tackle on Gervinho by Ekstrand after a lovely pass by Ramsey - and the ref gives a goal kick so dramatically the Udinese players think it's a penalty and all start protesting and grabbing him. Then they all laugh when they realise. Ah. Football.

88 mins This now looks like it might be edging safely towards a 1-0. Abdi is on for Pinzi. And Harry Tuttle writes: "That Ray Parlour story is bizarre because I, too, have met a fantasist claiming to be Ray Parlour's cousin! What is about Ray Parlour that inspires such counterfeit braggadocio?" Hmm. I don't know. Maybe I should ask my cousin - Ray Parlour.

89 mins Tell you what. Young Jenkinson has done all right. Even if he does nothing else for Arsenal he can be proud of keeping his head tonight. Nice little tackle on Isla there near the goal line. And there goes Frimpong bursting forward nicely and almost playing in Walcott. Arsenal have put a semi-gloss on this performance in the last ten minutes but at times they were bullied a bit here. It won't be easy in Italy.

90+1 mins Ah ha. It could have been a lot easier if that had gone in. Great save from Handanovic - really great given the state of the tie - from Walcott as he looked to side foot in after some great work - yes: great work - from Gervinho coming across from right to left. That looked to be going in but the keeper dived to his left and palmed clear sensationally. Gervinho looked very well balanced there drifting in.

90+3 mins FULL TIME. Arsenal 1-0 Udinese. A last gasp free kick after a very cheap foul from Koscielny is curled over the bar by Di Natale and that is it. Walcott took the winner well and might have had another at the end but Arsenal are facing a very awkward game next week protecting a 1-0 against this team. They also lost two defenders with hamstring twangs tonight.